Roebling Bridge and Zane Grey Museum

There are some roads that I've ridden so many times that I assume that everyone knows about them. Every so often I'm reminded that it isn't so. Here are some roads that I ride all of the time, and always enjoy. The route begins at the Red Apple Rest in Southfields, NY. If you ride north on NY 17 from I-287 you will find it north of Tuxedo, NY on your right. From there you pick up NY 17A and go across the ridge into Greenwood Lake. 17A has some great turns and can be fun if there's no traffic. From Greenwood Lake you'll head up to Warwick and then onto Orange County Route 1. Orange Co. 1 crosses the black earth of the onion fields and is always a pleasant ride. After a trip down the hill into the Delaware River valley on US 6, you'll have the pleasure of riding through Port Jervis, NY. Don't worry, it won't last very long, besides there a few places to get gas. Once you're clear of Port Jervis, the route swings up NY 97. NY 97 hugs the Delaware river and then does a little dance as it goes through a place called Hawk's Nest. You've probably seen this bit of road in a TV commercial under the wheels of a BMW. Try to get up there early so you too can enjoy this part of the ride without lots of traffic to interrupt your fun. Watch your speed as you go through the towns on 97. When the sign says 35MPH the town means it. After Hawk's Nest the road opens up and you can enjoy smooth sweepers on your way up to one of the 19th century's smaller engineering marvels.

John Roebling (the guy who built the Brooklyn Bridge) built this suspension bridge in 1848 (before the bigger one in Brooklyn) to carry the Delaware and Hudson Canal over the Delaware River. That's right, it originally carried water over the river. Its been dried out and restored, so now you can ride across it. At the bridge's toll house the Park Service has a small visitor's center with some models and drawings of the bridge. Be sure to stop and take a look at it. They've built a new parking lot just beyond the bridge on the New York side so you don't even have to park in the mud any more. Once you've crossed the bridge, stop and visit the Zane Grey House and Museum. Zane Grey wrote stories of the Wild West. Among them, "Riders of the Purple Sage". The house is full of memorabilia from his life. Museum is open Noon to 4:00 on Saturdays and Sundays from May to October. Admission is free.

If you want to keep riding once you've finished seeing the bridge and museum, you can continue north on NY 97 or pick any of the numbered state or county roads that intersect it. Following any of them will lead you to great roads. 

	Roebling Bridge and Zane Grey Museum

			
	  Mileage 
	Total  Leg

	0.0	0.0	EXIT LEFT	From the Red Apple Rest 
	0.3	0.3	BEAR RIGHT	LIGHT - Up the ramp to 17A
	0.5	0.2	RIGHT		STOP - NY 17A

	 7.9	7.4	BEAR RIGHT	NY 17A Cont.
	 8.0	0.1	BEAR LEFT	NY 17A Cont.
	14.4	6.4	LEFT		NY 94 South

	15.0	0.6	RIGHT		Orange Co. 1A - Follow OC 1
	22.6	7.6	BEAR RIGHT	Orange Co. 1 Continued
	25.1	2.5	BEAR LEFT	Orange Co. 1 Continued

	27.9	2.8	STRAIGHT	STOP - Cross NY 284
	31.6	3.7	LEFT		STOP - US 6 West
	36.9	5.3	STRAIGHT	LIGHT - US 6 West - Follow US 6

	38.6	1.7	STRAIGHT	LIGHT - Join NY 42 (US 6 goes right)
	38.9	0.3	BEAR RIGHT	NY 97 - Up the hill
	41.6	2.7	STRAIGHT	Follow NY 97

	57.2   15.6	STRAIGHT	BLINKER - Follow NY 97
	61.2	4.0	LEFT		Cross the Roebling Bridge
	61.4	0.2	RIGHT		STOP - T

	61.8	0.4	LEFT		Zane Grey Museum